Curtin University Vice-Chancellor Professor Harlene Hayne CNZM has expressed deep concern as the State Government announced it is progressing a business case to merge Curtin University, Murdoch University and The University of Western Australia to create a mega-university of almost 120,000 students.
“Cost, waste, and loss of choice, jobs and legacy will be the hallmarks of the planned merger of universities proposed by the Western Australian Government today. Every graduate of UWA, Curtin and Murdoch holds a degree from an institution that may not exist in the future,” Professor Hayne said.
“Curtin will vigorously oppose this in the best interests of our more than 67,000 students, 10,000 staff, 300,000 graduates and Western Australia’s economic future.
“While the benefits of a potential merger have never been clearly articulated by the State Government, we are well aware of the significant costs, risks and disruptions a merger would create for WA’s future. We have been clear from the outset that Curtin does not support a forced merger.
“A three-way merger of Curtin, UWA and Murdoch would create a mega-university of almost 120,000 students – a scale unmatched in Australia and rare internationally. Size at that level brings complexity, not competitiveness, and draws efforts away from our core purposes of teaching, learning and student support.
“At a time when WA should be doing everything possible to retain our brightest young people, merging our top two universities (Curtin and UWA) that are ranked in the world’s top one per cent would diminish student choice and opportunity, reduce academic diversity and encourage more talented students to look interstate for the breadth of world-class opportunities that WA currently provides.
“Up to $650 million will be spent by the South Australian Government on the recent South Australian merger by 2032, with an additional $462 million coming from the two universities’ reserves over the next six years – a total of more than $1.1 billion.
“As WA faces a cost-of-living crisis, housing pressures, critical shortages of healthcare workers and growing pressure on hospital beds, I can’t see how spending more than a billion dollars in this way will benefit Western Australians.”
Professor Hayne said the University would examine the plan unveiled by the State Government today, including the 2025 WA University Feasibility Study.
Curtin is ranked in the top one per cent of universities worldwide and the top ten in Australia. It has the highest possible international QS Stars rating for a tertiary education institution and is consistently named the State’s best for full-time undergraduate employment.
Curtin educates approximately 67,000 students (more than twice the size of the next largest WA university), employs around 10,000 staff and operates across five international campuses, making it one of Australia’s largest and most globally connected universities. In the past five years, Curtin’s research income and international student enrolments have increased by almost 50 per cent.
The University has built a reputation around innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit, being at the forefront of many high-profile research projects in astronomy, biosciences, economics, mining and information technology. It is also recognised globally for its strong connections with industry and for its commitment to preparing students for the jobs of the future.
Across Curtin, leaders in their fields are actively working every day to address some of society’s most pressing challenges including the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quality Work in a Digital Age, the Curtin-led Resources Technology and Critical Minerals Trailblazer, the Curtin enAble Institute, the world-renowned WA School of Mines, the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre, the Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute, the Curtin Institute for Energy Transition, the Green Tech Hub, the WA Data Science Innovation Hub, the National Drug Research Institute and the Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success, among many others.
For further information, visit curtin.edu.au.
